Of the bigness of the moment, the historical context of the game -- and of the blur that he was as he came streaking around third base, rocketing towards home plate and an unsuspecting, Randy Johnson, oblivious to the approaching lightning strike as he glumly tracked the recovery of a game-turning passed ball.

The stage was never too big for Kenny Lofton.

He welcomed it. He embraced it.

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I'm thinking about that great moment in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the 1995 American League Championship Series, when Lofton turned Seattle's cacophonous Kingdome catacomb quiet with perhaps the most famous dash in Indians history.

Lofton scored from second base on a two-run passed ball that turned a 1-0 Tribe lead to a 3-0 lead in what became a 4-0 Indians victory, clinching their first American League pennant since 1954.

It was vintage Lofton: he reached first base on a bunt single, off Johnson, who was 18-2 that year, won the Cy Young Award, and held left-handed hitters to a .129 batting average (Lofton hit left-handed). Lofton then stole second and, on a passed ball, scored FROM SECOND BASE!

I don't ever remember seeing a player do that, so that's why I'm thinking about it as I begin to contemplate my Hall of Fame ballot.

Lofton is on the ballot this year for the first time.

It's a close call. It would be a lot easier if Lofton's numbers were just a little bit better, but they are what they are, and I imagine they probably aren't quite good enough for him to get 75 percent of the votes, which is necessary for induction.

Still, it's an impressive resume.

His career WAR (wins above replacement) is 64.9. The average WAR for those position players already in the Hall of Fame is 65. Among the Hall of Famers who have a lower career WAR than Lofton are Eddie Murray, Willie McCovey, Lou Boudreau, Jackie Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, and Lou Brock.

Lofton led the American League in stolen bases five consecutive years (1992-96). Only three other players have done that, and two of them are in the Hall of Fame: Rickey Henderson and Luis Aparicio.

Lofton was a six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner. He ranks 15th all-time with 622 stolen bases -- only eight Hall of Famers have more.

He has 2,428 career hits (average Hall of Famer: 2,399), and 1,528 runs scored, which is about 100 more than the average Hall of Famer, and more than Roberto Alomar, Mike Schmidt, Napoleon Lajoie and Rod Carew.

Lofton's best year was his most overlooked year -- the 1994 season, in which the Indians played just 113 games due to the players' strike. When the season was halted Lofton was on a pace to hit .349 with 202 hits, 15 home runs, 132 runs scored, 76 stolen bases, 40 doubles and 11 triples.

His No. 1 tool, of course, was his blinding speed. I remember in spring training in 1992, his first year with the Indians, after general manager John Hart stole him from Houston in a trade for Willie Blair and Eddie Taubensee.

We had heard about Lofton's speed, but it wasn't until spring training that year that we got to actually see it. It was breathtaking. We also got to see, almost immediately, the Lofton competitiveness, the Lofton athleticism, and the Lofton swagger. He had tons of all of it.

He was probably the most competitive player on maybe the most ferociously-competitive Indians' team ever -- the 100-win (in 144 games) 1995 Tribe. His athleticism was always on display, but if you need proof, Google his over-the-bullpen wall, home run-robbing catch off B.J. Surhoff.

His swagger?

Whenever he drew a walk he had a habit of cockily flipping his bat on top of home plate, basically taunting the pitcher for not throwing him a strike.

He did it once to crusty Jack Morris, and the next time Morris faced him Morris buzzed Lofton's kneecaps.

Lofton could hit, he could run, he could play defense with anyone. Is he a Hall of Famer? He may benefit this year by being on the ballot with a handful of steroid users, for whom many writers, this one included, refuse to vote.

He may be hurt by the fact that speedy leadoff hitter Tim Raines, who in the '80s was Kenny Lofton before Kenny Lofton, is not yet in the Hall, but is on the ballot this year as well.

Lofton's career batting average was .299. He missed hitting .300 for his 17-year career by four hits.